Baby Bijan entered the world on May 2, 2022 — a blessing in the lives of Angie and Ruben Boroomand.

Despite his early arrival, the baby boy was born healthy and the delivery went smoothly.

Then, suddenly, Angie Boroomand began losing blood and fell unconscious.

Nurses surrounded her.

Her husband Ruben was slapping her face, yelling, “Wake up.”

“Ruben was telling me he didn’t know if I was going to make it out of the hospital,” she said.

She did make it out, and eight weeks later, Angie, Ruben and Bijan are doing fine.

While Boroomand’s post-partum emergency was the ultimate in peril, the 2019 Cal State Fullerton graduate has emerged out of dangerous situations before, albeit a different kind of danger.

Growing up in Brea, Boroomand’s youth was anything but traditional.

She used drugs and made poor choices.

She bounced around from high school to high school multiple times.

Having a brother with a severe mental illness, family life was also tumultuous at times.

Then, while attending Brea Canyon High school, Boroomand experienced what is often referred to in recovery circles as a moment of clarity.

She has been clean and sober since April 13, 2012.

Now on another trajectory, Boroomand was fortunate to make connections with individuals who influenced her decisions in positive ways.

While pursuing an associate’s degree in psychology at Fullerton College, Boroomand was inspired by psychology professor Yashar Rahbar.

A Cal State Fullerton graduate and psychologist with an impressive resume, Rahbar was immediately impressed by Boroomand’s work ethic.

“Angie was a super hard-working student from the first day of class until the last day,” Rahbar said. “There are some people who just do the homework and some people who put everything in it. You can tell that they are committed to it, and I saw that in Angie.”

Rahbar makes it a point to meet with his students, and in doing so, he shares details of his own educational and career paths.

In getting to know Boroomand, Rahbar discovered their life experiences were similar.

“He had the life that I wanted,” Boroomand said. “He gave me a lot of the tools that I applied during my time there.”

Boroomand earned an associate’s degree from Fullerton College and started the pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at Cal State Fullerton in 2018.

Angie Boroomand with her husband Ruben and baby Bijan. (Courtesy of Angie Boroomand)

At CSUF, she was active in the Psychology Department Student Association, where she had the opportunity to listen to guest speakers who were renowned in different disciplines of the field.

One of those speakers was Elizabeth Loftus, a UC Irvine professor who has done extensive research on human memory.

Another was Nancy Segal, an award-winning CSUF psychology professor, who has done revolutionary work in the field of twin studies and has authored multiple books on the subject.

“It was kind of cool to know that the professors at these schools here are doing big things,” Boroomand said.

As a requirement for graduation, psychology students must do an internship.

Boroomand’s was a rare paid internship as a therapeutic behavioral services coach at Orange County-based Western Youth Services.

The organization hired Boroomand when her internship was completed, and she remained at the organization for more than two years, into her first seven months of graduate school at Pepperdine University.

Boroomand graduated from CSUF in 2019 and went on to Pepperdine University, where she earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy.

When she walked on the stage at Pepperdine to receive her master’s, Boroomand held 17-day-old Bijan in her arms.

“I cried the whole way walking up, just knowing I didn’t even think I was going to make it to graduation,” she said.

As Boroomand walked off the stage, she was moved by applause and comments.

“Wow. She did it with a baby,” someone in the crowd said.

Now a counselor for the Orange County nonprofit organization Project Kinship, Boroomand is working with transitional-age offenders impacted by gangs, violence and incarceration.

The 80-bed facility is under the authority of OC Probation, offering substance-abuse treatment services for male and female youth ranging from ages 13 through 20.

Boroomand’s relationship with Rahbar has evolved from a mentorship to a friendship between colleagues.

“I followed in his footsteps,” she said.

The two have discussed working together on a project that would take a holistic approach to helping young adults struggling with initial stages of mental illness.

“She has experienced so many things first-hand, and she doesn’t want other people to go through that,” Rahbar said. “And that is the beauty of her dedication and continuing her work with underserved young adults and teenagers, to create for them something that maybe (will create opportunities).”

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